Voters Hearing Countless Ways of Saying 'Sorry'

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These are sorry days in American politics.

The Maryland comptroller, William Donald Schaefer, a former governor and Baltimore mayor, released a radio advertisement on Wednesday in which he apologized to anyone he had offended in his 50-year career, sins that ranged from ogling a woman at a public meeting to complaining that immigrants were not learning English fast enough.

Senator Conrad Burns, Republican of Montana, said Wednesday that the United States confronts a “faceless enemy” of terrorists who “drive cabs in the daytime and kill at night.” Despite a hail of criticism on Thursday, Mr. Burns has not apologized for this remark as he did after complaining in July that a group of firefighters did not do a “goddamn thing” to stop a wildfire east of Billings.


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Politicians have been apologizing for as long as they have been getting in trouble, of course. But the recent wave has been remarkable in its frequency and sweep. A Washington Republican Senate candidate, Mike McGavick, stunned many last month when he apologized on his campaign blog for “the very worst and most embarrassing things in my life,” and then catalogued a roster that included a previously undisclosed drunken-driving citation from 13 years ago and a questionable campaign advertisement he allowed 18 years ago.


“None of these apologies are effective because no one believes them anymore,” said Chuck Todd, editor of the daily political tip-sheet, Hotline.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/washington/01apology.html?hp&ex=1157083200&en=846da6d91a8e72e6&ei=5094&partner=homepage